New Holiday to Mourn Queen Elizabeth II

UPDATE (Sept. 13^th, 5:26 p.m.): Premier Heather Stefanson announced today that the province is recognizing September 19^th as a day of mourning to encourage Manitobans to honour and pay their respects to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

According to a news release by the provincial government, all non-essential government services and offices will be closed for the day. However, schools will remain open and classes will be in session, and child-care facilities will also be open. It also said that the healthcare system will continue to operate as usual.

Today’s announcement follows the federal government’s decision to mark September 19^th – the day of the funeral for Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – as a one-time federal holiday for core federal public services, the premier noted.

UPDATE (Sept. 13^th, 3:38 p.m.): The Prime Minister's Office clarified that the federal holiday will only apply to federal government employees and not to all employees working in federally-regulated industries, such as banks, airlines, post offices, and Crown corporations.

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan says in a tweet that he welcomes all federally-regulated employers to follow suit.

September 19, 2022 will be a holiday for federal government employees. It will be a day of mourning for the passing of Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.

Federally regulated employers are welcomed to follow suit, but they are not required to do so.
— Seamus O'Regan Jr (@SeamusORegan) September 13, 2022

The original article follows:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that September 19^th will be a federal holiday.

The new holiday is meant to be a day to mourn Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her state funeral.

PM Trudeau says that his government is working to coordinate with the provinces and territories.

"We will be working with the provinces and the territories to try and see that we're aligned on this. There are still a few details to be worked out, but declaring an opportunity for Canadians to mourn on Monday is going to be important," Trudeau adds.

Unless the provinces and territories come on board with the plan, only federally-regulated workers will get the day off work.

We will continue to provide you with updates as they become available.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 13, 2022 - 12:24 pm

The University of Manitoba School of Agriculture will have a new Director come October 17th, as Sue Clayton will be taking over the position. Clayton is the current Executive Director of Agriculture in the Classroom - Manitoba(AITC-MB), and she says her new position means her career has come full circle.

"I have a degree from the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at U of M, and then I actually worked at the faculty for about eight years as the Community Liason Coordinator for the faculty which was basically student recruitment and marketing, so I was involved with the degree programs and the diploma programs at the time, helping to recruit more students into the programs, and then I went on to Agriculture in the Classroom."

Clayton says her whole career to this point has been about agriculture and education.

"It's been an interesting path to get to the Director of the School of Ag position because as I mentioned I did work at the University, I worked overseas for a number of years in the Agriculture industry as well in Europe, and then back at the University and then Agriculture in the Classroom. I also was a school trustee for a number of years for a school division in the City of Winnipeg, so it's always been education and agriculture that's in my background."

Clayton is leaving her current position at AITC-MB at the end of September, and Katharine Cherewyk will be taking over the position.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Sep 13, 2022 - 12:07 pm

The Dauphin Friendship Centre's hosting its annual Picnic in the Park tonight from 5-7 p.m. between the DFC and the Youth Centre. The first hot dog and drink are free for all in attendance, and after that, it's just a small fee for anyone who wants more, says Event Coordinator Jarri Thompson.

"This year we're doing it a little bit later just to kind of kick off the fall season and back to school. We're gonna be having the bouncy castle, games, face painting, and entertainment by Desiree Dorion, Emma Peterson, and Quinton Blair."

There's also going to be a silver collection at the event if people want to donate to the Centre.

"The silver collection will probably go towards our Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony being held at the end of the month."

Thompson says there's seating at the event, but people can bring their own lawn chairs and blankets, to make sure they're comfortable.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Sep 13, 2022 - 6:00 am

Ste. Rose Recreation is hosting their Health, Rec, and Leisure Mart tonight from 5-7 p.m. in the Ste. Rose School Gym. Rec Director Marie Sorlie says a number of organizations will be at the event to answer any questions and get people registered for their programs.

"We have vendors like Minor Hockey and Youth Rec Hockey. We also have vendors from the Library, the Public Health Centre, and the Senior Centre in town, so you will get information for everything that's happening in Ste. Rose."

Sorlie says it's the perfect opportunity for people to find out what the community has to offer.

"Stop on in, ask the questions you need to ask, and there's a lot of different people, a lot of different vendors and clubs and organizations that are coming tonight. I do believe I have close to 15 tables booked."

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Sep 13, 2022 - 6:00 am

UPDATE: The RCMP have safely located Chyanne Bailey and Brock Bailey with their father in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

They say that the children will be coming back to Manitoba and that there are no charges at this time.

Their investigation is continuing.

Update contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos

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The original article follows:

Boissevain RCMP are looking for 12-year-old Chyanne Bailey and 10-year-old Brock Bailey who were reported missing on Monday.

The two were supposed to be returned to their mother on Saturday afternoon after having gone to their father's place in Hartney. The father has not been seen or heard from and did not show up for work on Monday. More details from the RCMP and photos are below:

On September 12, 2022, at 9:21 am, Boissevain RCMP received a report that two children had not been returned to their mother after they had spent time with their father.

Chyanne Bailey, a 12-year-old female, and Brock Bailey, a 10-year-old male, rode their bikes from school to the Hartney, Manitoba home of their father Michael Bailey, 41, on September 8, 2022, as per agreement. The children were supposed to be back with their mother on Saturday afternoon, but nobody has seen or heard from Michael or the children since the children left school. Michael did not show up for work on September 12.

Chyanne is described as 5’6” tall, 110 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair. She was wearing a dark green jumper and sweater, green pants, and neon pink running shoes last time she was seen.

Brock is described as 5’ tall and 88 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair. He has scrapes on his knees from riding his bike. He was last seen wearing a grey and maroon hoodie, shorts, and running shoes.

Michael is described as 6’5” tall, 198 pounds, with hazel eyes. He drives a grey Dodge pickup truck with Manitoba licence plate KNB 764.

If you have information, please call Boissevain RCMP at 204-534-7262, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.

Chyanne Bailey. Image provided by RCMP.

Brock Bailey. Image provided by RCMP.

Details: Contributed by Alec Woolston; Published: Sep 13, 2022 - 5:16 am

The Dauphin City Council met for their first meeting in over a month tonight. City Manager Sharla Griffiths spoke about a trip that three city employees took with Parks Canada, to the site of Edwards Lake and Edwards Creek, where the City of Dauphin gets its water.

Griffiths says the city has been using the water source for over 90 years, and since the formation of Riding Mountain National Park has been working with Parks Canada on the project. The City and Parks Canada are currently working on a new agreement about the use of the water, as the original agreement has expired.

"On August 24, the Director of Public Works and Operations, Utility Foreman, and I joined six Parks Canada employees on a hike to Edwards Lake and the control structure that channels water from the Lake to the Creek, to gain a better understanding of the City’s use of the water, the existing control structures, some abandoned City infrastructure, potential impacts of continuing to divert the water through the control structure, and precautions that must be taken to ensure the health of Edwards Lake."

Griffiths says the agreement has been coming along, and the city is now waiting for more details.

"As part of the Agreement, the City will have to perform an impact assessment but we have not been told the details of the assessment, so this part of the work may be done later in 2022 or into 2023. Right now, from this review, parks Canada is taking the information back and working again on the draft of an agreement. It’s been a very long process to get to the Agreementstage, and we continue to work diligently with our partners at Parks Canada toward that end."

Griffiths also spoke about the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Memorial Project, which came to fruition during an unveiling ceremony on August 27th.

The council also discussed Curbside Giveaway Weekend, which is taking place this Saturday and Sunday. People are to place unwanted, reusable household items at their curb and are told to make sure they're labeled with a "FREE" sign so people know they're part of the giveaway weekend.

Items are to be removed by 7 a.m. on Monday, September 19th, or they'll be removed by the city with a minimum fee of $50.

Today's council meeting was streamed to the City of Dauphin YouTube page and can be found here.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Sep 12, 2022 - 6:16 pm

As temperatures are expected to drop tonight, there's a frost advisory in effect for the Swan River - Duck Mountain - Porcupine Provincial Forest areas, including:

Duck Mountain Prov. Park and Prov. Forest
Mun. of Minitonas-Bowsman incl. Renwer
Mun. of Swan Valley West incl. Benito
Pelican Rapids and Shoal River First Nations
Porcupine Prov. Forest
R.M. of Mountain including Cowan and Camperville
R.M. of Mountain including Mafeking and Birch River
Westgate Red Deer Lake and Barrows

Temperatures are expected to fall to around zero tonight, and people are being advised to cover up plants if possible. In the Dauphin area, temperatures are expected to drop to around plus three tonight and there's a risk of frost, although no advisory has been issued at this time.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Sep 12, 2022 - 4:18 pm

Water has been restored on 4th Street and Jubilee Avenue in Winnipegosis. The water had been off for a few hours due to a water main break in the area.

The Mossey River Municipality announced water had been restored through a Facebook post this afternoon.

Details: Contributed by Sam Brownell; Published: Sep 12, 2022 - 1:36 pm

The provincial government has announced that people who are eligible for the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine can start booking appointments today at 9 a.m.

According to the province, appointments will be available beginning September 14^th and the online vaccine finder map will be updated this week with all of the locations where the bivalent vaccine is available.

The Manitoba government says that the bivalent vaccine has been developed to provide protection against two strains of COVID-19: the original strain of the virus and the omicron variant.

They also say that Manitoba received its first shipment of 27,650 doses of vaccine last week and will begin filling orders and shipping the vaccine to locations across the province as quickly as possible and that a second shipment of 77,600 doses will be delivered from the federal government this week.

The province adds that they expect to be able to expand eligibility for the bivalent vaccine to all Manitobans aged 18 and older in the coming weeks, based on vaccine shipments from the federal government and initial uptake among eligible groups.

Anyone interested in receiving a dose of the bivalent vaccine can make an appointment by using the online booking tool, by contacting the vaccine call centre at 1-844-626-8222 or by contacting medical clinics and pharmacies directly.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 12, 2022 - 6:15 am

Michael Winter is running in the municipal election to become a councillor on Dauphin City Council.

Winter says that he's proud of his Indigenous identity and moved to Dauphin when he was twelve years old.

"I love this community and I want to see it thrive... The crime is getting out of control. From when I was a kid, we've been slowly changing and it's not really going in a good way," he adds.

Michael Winter went on to say that he would like the community to be safer and attract better-paying jobs with some kind of industry in town.

"I want to be able to keep our children in this town, so when they graduate if they want to go into something here, it would benefit them, instead of them having to go away to work or move out of town. I want our town to grow," he adds.

After seeing his mother struggle to get around during the winter, Winter is committed to addressing the mobility issue if he's elected.

"[We've] got a lot of elderly in town and a lot of people use walkers and a lot of people use wheelchairs and it's hard to watch people in our community struggle like that just to get groceries," he adds.

Winter believes that people should vote for him because of his honesty and feels that more of that is needed on council.

"I built a pretty good reputation for myself in this town. I've been self-employed since 2011 and all my customers have nothing but good things to say about me and I hold that to a very high standard," he adds.

Winter would also like to see some sort of growth happen and bring in more police officers if elected.

"The businesses suffer having to constantly pay a deductible to get their windows fixed. I've changed a couple of them in the past couple of weeks on Main St. and it's pretty sad," he adds.

Anyone interested in running for municipal office has until September 20^th to register.

The municipal election will take place on October 26^th.

Details: Contributed by Nicholas Iatropoulos; Published: Sep 12, 2022 - 6:05 am

The Dauphin Agricultural Heritage Clubs' 22nd Annual Threshing day took place on Saturday and the event was a huge success. Heritage Club President Dennis Forbes says the organization was so happy to have the event back this year.

"This is one of the best things going, I mean we were kind of pouty the last few years not being able to hold it and showcase what we do to the public and so on. We're just looking forward to a very good day today and we do it mostly just because we like playing with this old equipment."

The event had already been pushed back a week due to the late harvest, and a frost warning in the forecast for Saturday morning wasn't enough to stop the Heritage Club. Shortly after the event began, the clouds went away and it was a beautiful day for threshing.

"The people that are coming out, it's 10 o'clock here today and they're showing up already, it indicates that there is interest within the community and that just makes it all the better."

Even though this year's event had to be scaled back slightly because of the date change, the Heritage Club gave attendees a look into how harvest used to be done with cutting, binding, stooking, and threshing demonstrations.